Paul with U.S.-made parts, ISO-Aire delivers proven mitigation strategies that exceed the minimum requirements for indoor air quality established by ASHRAE and the Centers for Disease Control. The restaurant's RSF500 houses three layers of clean air technology including medical-grade HEPA filtration, ozone-free bipolar ionization and UVC sterilization to capture and destroy 99.99% of harmful airborne pathogens, mold, pollen, VOCs, and dust. We're adding peace of mind via cleaner indoor air to improve Luci Ancora's ambiance." "When we are able to re-open for in-dining service we know clean air, pure of any harmful particles, will be essential in operating a safe restaurant business here in St. So adding this layer of protection is a long-term investment on behalf of our employees, our customers, and our neighborhood," explained Gans. "Our goal has always been to help guests feel at home, as if they're in their own dining room. According to co-owner Maria Gans, her staff has affectionately named their newest member Aria Fresca, which means "fresh air" in Italian. Here you'll find a cozy wood-burning fireplace, handmade fresh pasta entrees, and most recently clean indoor air with the addition of an ISO-Aire purification unit. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood and you feel right at home. To others, they’re the reason to dine at Ancora.Step inside Luci Ancora, a vibrant Italian restaurant in St. To some, Luci’s quirks-its cramped space and tacky photos, the obnoxious buzz of the icemaker and the loud conversations coming from the kitchen-are what give it its charm. The noodles are feather-light and made a perfect nest for lush chunks of Alaskan king crab, glossed with butter and sparked with lemon. If the fresh fettuccine’s on the menu, start there. As it turned out, the poached salmon with apples and strawberries was the surprise favorite the delicate sweetness was marred only by the gratuitous use of parsley, which seemed too conspicuous in the dish.įor a few dollars more, you can build your own tasting menu. The cheese was followed by a cold tomato soup that was overwhelmed by a dull cumin flavor, then a hearty but somewhat soupy risotto with pork sausage and red cabbage. It began with a few green olives and a square of homemade, hand-pulled mozzarella, which had a texture like firm tofu, more crumbly than smooth. Some say Luci, some say Ancora, let’s call the whole thing off.Ī recent four-course prezzo fisso (fixed-price) meal at Luci was a steal at $26. (But Stephen also cooks at Ancora, and sometimes Luci dishes are served at Ancora and Ancora dishes are served at Luci-you see the problem?) The reasons some diners prefer one over the other-a penchant for truffle oil, a more spacious restroom-seem either ineffable or somewhat arbitrary. When pressed, Maria Gans (née Smith), who runs the fronts of the houses with her sister Daniela, says the differences are largely the whims of the chefs: her brother, Stephen Smith, at Luci, and honorary family member Jim Kohler at Ancora. Is one pricier? The other more experimental? Can we make some distinctions? The format of the menu is the same, the basics-homemade pastas, breads, and stocks-are shared, and both restaurants use as many fresh, local ingredients as possible. Over the years, that rule has bent like elbow macaroni. The real question is, What’s cookin’ in the kitchen? The Smiths, who spent 11 years living in Italy, originally intended that Ancora’s fare would hail from the north and Luci’s from the south. In contrast, the eight-year-old Ancora (which means “encore” in Italian) is the prom queen, an olive-colored villa with a wood-burning fireplace and patterned fabrics draped over windows that look out on the campus.īut looks only go dining room deep. It’s a dimly lit dining room with coral walls, white linens, and generic stackable banquet chairs, located in an unremarkable brick building with a glowing Pabst Blue Ribbon sign out front. Luci is the homelier-but perhaps more lovable-child, opened by Al and Lucille Smith in 1987 in what was formerly a 3.2 bar called the Club. Paul at the intersection of Cleveland and Randolph avenues, on either side of the gates of the College of St. The two are located kitty-corner from each other in St. FROM THE OUTSIDE, Ristorante Luci and her sister restaurant, Luci Ancora, appear so dissimilar you’d guess one was fathered by the mailman, er, il postino.
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